Mana Shibata

Oboe and Cor Anglais

NEXT Musician 2018-19

Japanese oboist Mana Shibata lives in Cheshire and enjoys a varied career as an orchestral and chamber musician. Mana freelances with orchestras such as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Manchester Camerata, and is currently on trial with City of London Sinfonia. She is most frequently seen performing with her wind quintetMagnardEnsemble, who are selected artists for both the Tillett and Tunnell Trusts for the current season, and their debut CD,Revolting Rhymes and Marvellous Musicreceived a4 starreview from BBC Music Magazine. As well as Brahms Lieder, Wagner operas and Stravinsky ballets (and great many other composers for that matter), contemporary music is something that keeps Mana excited about music. She has worked withPsapphaandOctandreEnsemble, and in June 2018 she premiered a solo oboe work by the young composer, Leo Geyer atBeaminsterFestival.Mana left her hometown, Tokyo aged 13 to study atChetham’sSchool of Music, then at the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Mana has won several awards including Evelyn Rothwell/Barbirolli Prize at the RAM,CraxtonMemorial Trust Award, and theCainsAdvocates Prize at the 2014 Barbirolli International Oboe Competition.

Why are you looking forward to taking part in NEXT?

Melinda Maxwell has been my inspiration since I was an undergraduate and when I found out that there was an opportunity to study and work with her and her colleagues at BCMG, I wasted no time in applying. Music and the arts in general are sadly struggling and I have felt for many years now that some of my real interests as a musician have been sacrificed in order to survive.

New Music should be given more opportunities to shine, and for everyone to listen without preconceptions – not all contemporary music is “squeaky”! By being part of this new programme, I hope to reconnect with where classical music is heading and learn how it has got where it is now. I also hope to improve my communication skills with the audience, not only through my performance but outside of concerts, as my ultimate aim as a musician is to entice as many people as I can to listen to a wide variety of music with no prejudices. I am absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to take part in the NEXT Programme and cannot wait to get started!

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire announce the first 11 musicians to join the NEXT Music programme, a brand new, innovative programme of study to support early career musicians who want to dedicate their professional life to contemporary music.